Exposed (Ethan Frost 3)

“But then you showed up, with your fucking blender and your too-big brain and your quest to make the world a better place and I never imagined it would feel like this. But it does. You mean more to me than anything ever has or ever will and the last thing I want is for something to happen to you because of ancient history that doesn’t matter anymore. That I won’t let matter anymore.”

She’s breathing hard by the time she’s finished, tears rolling down her cheeks. And I’m done. I’m just done.

I pull her into my arms, hold her shuddering body against my chest. “I love you,” I tell her, pressing kisses to the top of her head, her forehead, her cheeks. “I love you so much, sweetheart.”

“I know.” She chokes the words out. “I don’t know why you do, but I know that you do.”

Her words hit me hard and low, because how could she not know? I start to pull away, to look her in the eye, but she wraps her arms around my waist and holds me to her.

“I love you,” I tell her in between pressing kisses to whatever parts of her I can reach, “because you are the bravest person I have ever met. I love you because you’ve gone through hell and put yourself back together again and somehow didn’t let it change your compassion for the rest of the world. I love you”—by this time, I’m the one choking out words—“because you have an amazing heart and incredible strength and a brilliant mind. I fell for you the minute you called me on my shit in the cafeteria that day and I’ve kept falling every day since.”

She sobs a little, buries her face more firmly against my chest.

“And I know,” I continue, putting a finger under her chin and tilting her face up until I can look into her beautiful green eyes, “how hard it is for you to trust in anything or anyone, but you’ve trusted me with so much since that first day. I need you to trust me with this, too. I won’t let Brandon hurt you. I won’t—”

“It’s not me I’m worried about!”

“I know that. And I promise, I won’t let him hurt me, either.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I am promising that.”

“Baby.” She brings her hands up, cups my cheeks. Her eyes are still filled with tears, but behind the tears is a steely resolve that I can’t ignore. “I’m not sure how you see this going in the long run, but I’m telling you right now, that it is going to end badly.”

“I have a plan—”

“You can have a million plans and it still isn’t going to work out the way that you want it to. You are a brilliant man and in anything else, I would trust your plans implicitly. But you are too close to this. Too close to me. Too close to Brandon. And you’re being driven by a rage that blinds you to everything else.”

“I have a plan,” I repeat, wrapping my hands around hers. “Sebastian’s helping me. Brandon is going to go to jail. And though it kills me that it won’t be for what he did to you, at least he’ll know why he’s really in there. And he won’t be able to run for Congress, won’t be able to use his power and position to hurt another woman. It’s not enough, but it’s something.”

“It’s a lot. It’s too much. You can’t actually believe he’s going to just lie down and let that happen, do you?”

“He doesn’t have a choice. He may have powerful friends, but so do I. And I’ll call in every favor that I need to in order to make sure this happens.” I lower my mouth to hers, kiss her gently. She doesn’t respond at first, her mouth slack against mine. I coax her though, my lips brushing against hers again and again until she finally opens to me. Finally lets me in.

I don’t let myself think about how relieved I am. Instead, I just kiss her and kiss her and kiss her, our lips and tongues moving over and against and inside one another. Again and again, until our mouths are numb and the surf has risen a few inches to lick against our ankles and calves. Again and again, until the rest of the world vanishes and it’s just us.

Chloe pulls away first. She licks her swollen lips, takes a deep breath, then another and another. At first, I think she’s just trying to catch her breath, but then I realize she’s working her way up to saying something she doesn’t think I’m going to like.

“Tell me.” I reach up, smooth her glorious curls away from her face.

“You don’t know Brandon as well as you think you do.”

I make a face, start to tell her that I know my brother’s strengths and weaknesses better than she’s giving me credit for, but she holds up a hand to silence me.

“He resents you,” she continues. “You’re the man that he’s not strong enough or smart enough or good enough to be and he hates that. I might have only known him for a year, but the way he talked about you to his friends—to anyone who would listen—that kind of fury and resentment doesn’t just go away. Especially not when you consider everything you’ve done in the last seven years versus what he’s done. How many times have you had to save his ass? How many times have you had to fix messes that he’s created?”

I wince at that, and she shakes her head, puts a placating hand on my arm. “Stop going there, okay? I’m not talking about what you did with me.”

She might not be talking about it, but I can’t help but hear it. Can’t help but nearly crumble under the guilt and the regret.

Chloe won’t let me wallow, though. She just presses a few warm, soft kisses to my chest before continuing. “I’m talking about how many scrapes he’s gotten himself into that you’ve had to get him out of. How many times he’s fucked up only to have you run damage control for him. And even if he was grateful for your help, even if he needed it, how do you think that help made him feel considering the fact that he has always—will always—live in your shadow? You’re Ethan Frost. He’s just your fuckup of a little brother.”

“Who is well on his way to being the next US Representative for his district in Massachusetts. Not exactly something to be ashamed of.”

“No. But not all that fabulous when you consider he’s getting it because you don’t want it.”

I freeze, shocked by her words…and her perception. “How did you know? I didn’t think anyone—”